The primary consideration in any emergency situation must be the safety of the students and staff. At certain times, therefore, it may be necessary to ask the staff to perform "beyond the call of duty" in order to provide for the welfare of our students. In the event of an actual emergency situation, all school personnel, instructional and noninstructional, will be required to remain in the building until they are dismissed by the Principal.

EVACUATION

A.

When an emergency occurs the Principal shall consult, when feasible, with the Superintendent or Director of Operations concerning whether to evacuate the school. An announcement will then be made to inform staff and students of the emergency procedures that will be followed.

B.

If a decision is made to send students home or to a preselected site, attempts will be made to notify parents by telephone and/or by radio or TV, and the public address system will be used to inform all teachers and students.

The professional and classified staff members will supervise the orderly evacuation of the building.

1.

If time permits, all students will go to their lockers, unlock them, take a coat if weather requires, and return to class leaving lockers open.

2.

Teachers should take class rolls, including, addresses and telephone numbers of students as well as emergency information.

3.

Teachers will remain (or return) to their regular classrooms and remain with their students.

4.

Clerical personnel will remain at their regular stations except in cases of reassignment by their immediate supervisor.

5.

Cafeteria personnel will remain in their areas until notified to the contrary by the main office.

FIRE/TORNADO/SCHOOL SAFETY DRILLS

In accordance with State law, fire drills or rapid dismissals are to be conducted six (6) during the school year with the first fire drill being conducted within ten (10) days of the beginning of classes. However, no fire drills are required to be conducted in any month that a school safety drill is conducted. Times and frequencies of drills must be varied. Each Principal shall prepare and distribute fire drill or rapid dismissal procedures whereby:

A.

all personnel leave the building during a drill;

B.

the plan of evacuation provides at least one (1) alternative route in case exits or stairways are blocked;

C.

teachers, when the fire alarm sounds, caution students to walk silently and briskly from the building to a specified location, check to make sure any disabled students requiring assistance are being assisted properly, close all windows and doors of room and turn out lights, if possible, before leaving, and conduct roll call as soon as students are at the designated location to make sure that each student is accounted for;

D.

a list is compiled at the beginning of each school year of all disabled students in the building who will require assistance in exiting the building or to reach an area of refuge in the building, together with the assignment of a staff member or nonstudent volunteer in the student's classroom who will be responsible for providing necessary assistance in an appropriate manner. The list and a copy of each studentís schedule showing room numbers shall be maintained by the Principal, who shall provide the list and schedules to the necessary authorities (e.g., law enforcement, firefighters) in the event of an emergency. A person should also be designated to assist a disabled student when the evacuation signal is given and s/he is in another area of the building such as the gym, all-purpose room, or lunchroom.

The Principal shall document that each fire drill was conducted in a proper manner and submit such documentation to the Superintendent at the end of each school year.

Tornado drills shall be conducted on a regular basis during the tornado season in accordance with AG 8420A - Severe Weather and Tornadoes.

School safety drills shall be conducted at least three (3) times during each school year. During the school safety drills, students must be instructed in the appropriate procedures to follow in situations where students must be secured in their or rapidly evacuated in response to:

A.

a threat to the school involving terrorism;

B.

a person in possession of a deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance on school property; and

C.

other acts of violence.

At least one (1) safety drill shall include a scenario where students must be secured in the school building rather than rapidly evacuated.

School safety drills (including drills and theoretical drills) shall be conducted in conjunction with the Districtís emergency management plan.

The Principal must conduct at least one (1) drill or rapid dismissal or one (1) school safety drill during each month of the school year. A drill or rapid dismissal may be conducted during the same month as a school safety drill. All building occupants must participate in the drill.

Additionally, the Principal shall conduct a theoretical school safety drill at least once during the school year to provide instruction to school faculty and staff regarding procedures to be followed in such situations. The theoretical drill does not need to include student participation and may be conducted at the required annual employee school safety drill training session.

Each safety drill shall be conducted in conjunction with law enforcement officials.

Prior to conducting the annual school safety drills, each Principal shall:

A.

provide advance written notice of each school safety drill (actual and theoretical) to the municipal or township police chief or other chief law enforcement officer (or in the absence of such officer, the county sheriff);

Such notice shall be provided no later than seventy-two (72) hours prior to the date the drill will be held, be sent by mail, facsimile, or electronic submission, and include the address of the school and the date and time the drill will be conducted.

B.

provide follow-up written certification of the date and time the drill was conducted during the previous school year as well as the date and time each drill will be conducted during the current school year to the municipal or township police chief or other chief law enforcement officer (or in the absence of such officer, the county sheriff);

The certification must be submitted by mail, facsimile or electronically by December 5th each calendar year.

C.

hold annual training sessions for school employees regarding the procedures to follow during school safety drills.

Each Principal shall keep a written record of the date and time of each drill conducted.

AREAS OF REFUGE

An area of refuge is a location in a building that has direct access to an exit, stairs, or enclosure where individuals who are unable to use stairs can go to call for assistance and wait for evacuation. In each building that lacks an automatic sprinkler system, the Principal shall designate an area of refuge on each floor above and below ground level, and shall designate personnel to remain with individuals using each area of refuge. Each area of refuge shall be designated with appropriate signage and a two (2) way communication device that allows for communication with first responders or others who can assist with evacuation from the building (should be stored in each area of refuge).